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Pema Gyamtsho

Director General
Directorate

My role at ICIMOD

My most important role as Director General is to guide, facilitate and support the overall operation and management of ICIMOD as per the policies and strategies approved by the Board of Governors. As a unique institution dedicated to the service of mountain people by contributing towards their socio-economic and physical security, it is my responsibility to ensure that our multi-disciplinary, multi-national and multi-cultural team do not just have the professional expertise to provide knowledge-based solutions to current and emerging challenges but are also passionate and motivated in carrying out our mission. Personally, as someone from the region and from the mountains, I carry with me a deep sense of loyalty and commitment to our constituencies, the HKH mountains of our eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.

The HKH region is a very diverse region – geo-physically, ecologically, socio-culturally, politically and economically; and this requires a high degree of understanding and sensitivity in strategizing, planning and implementation of ICIMOD’s programmes and projects.  Moreover, ICIMOD is supported through a consortium of funding sources that includes annual contributions from our regional member countries, core and programme funding from bilateral and multi-lateral development partners. It is my responsibility to ensure that our plans and programmes consider the multiple dimensions of diversity and that we respond to the needs and priorities of our constituents and have adequate financial resources. As an international center for mountains, ICIMOD is also the face and voice of the mountains in the international arena and a key role of the Director General is to represent the Centre at global fora, including the UNFCCC and UNFCB, besides other networks.

I will actively pursue my vision for ICIMOD, i.e. to further develop it into a globally recognized center of excellence on mountains and mountain peoples. Towards this end, it will be my endeavor to ensure the successful implementation of the “HKH Call to Action” that was recently endorsed by the governments of the eight regional member countries.

Short profile for introduction purposes

Pema Gyamtsho

Q:

How do you protect the pulse of the planet?

A:

I see the HKH mountains as the fountains of life. Being the source of the headwaters of 10 major rivers, they provide livelihood for millions of people living both within and beyond the region. Facilitating our regional member countries to engage in cross-border actions to reduce the impact of climate change on the cryosphere and protecting the rich biological and cultural diversity of the region will be keys to protecting the ‘pulse of the planet.’ I will build on our past achievements in further pushing the case of the mountains as a unique ecosystem that require urgent attention on the global agenda.

Q:

What is your favorite part of the work you do at ICIMOD?

A:

ICIMOD provides me with a platform to meet people from different nations and cultural backgrounds and a continuous opportunity to learn and enrich my knowledge on mountains and mountain peoples. Working with a highly diverse team of professionals from the region and beyond to develop and implement policies and plans that contribute to protecting the fragile mountain ecosystems and improve the well-being of the local communities gives me much excitement and satisfaction.

Q:

What are you passionate about?

A:

I am passionate about nature and people. ICIMOD offers me the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature and the bounty it provides to people. Likewise, it gives me opportunities to meet and interact with policy makers, scientists and development professionals and work with them to take care of our nature in ways that our future generations are not deprived of the rich cultural and biological heritage that the HKH region offers.

Articles by Pema Gyamtsho

11 Sep 2023 | China CN
确保空气洁净蓝天:紧急呼吁全球空气污染公约

近期的空气质量寿命指数(AQLI)报告标题为:“空气污染是地球上人类预期寿命面临的最大外部威胁”。这一严厉警告应该足以激励全球采取行动应对这一最严重且无处不在的威胁。然而,目前还没有专门针对这一“沉默杀手”的全球合作框架或公约。据世界卫生组织称,每年有 700 万人过早死亡与空气污染有关,这比迄今为止死于 Covid-19 的人数还多,而且根据该报告,空气污染对普通人的健康危害比吸烟或酗酒还大。为纪念今年国际清洁空气蓝天日,我紧急呼吁全球和地区领导人建立应对空气污染的全球合作框架。该框架应与解决“三重地球危机”的其中两个要素——气候变化和生物多样性丧失——的框架保持一致。 兴都库什-喜马拉雅地区受到的空气污染的严重影响,根源有很多,包括:机动车辆、工业、焚烧固体生物燃料、农作物秸秆和家庭废物。重要的是,这类受污染的空气并不是某个城市、地区或国家特有的,而是整个印度河-恒河平原和喜马拉雅山麓——横跨北印度次大陆和山脉的数十万平方公里的区域——所共有的。该地区空气中的悬浮颗粒经常超过安全水平,影响着居住在这里的大约十亿人。 正如联合国空气污染倡议所解释的,颗粒物是微小的污染颗粒,这些微小、肉眼看不见的颗粒污染物会深入我们的肺部、血液和身体。约三分之一的中风、慢性呼吸道疾病和肺癌死亡病例以及四分之一的心脏病死亡病例都因这些污染物造成。阳光下许多不同污染物相互作用产生的地面臭氧也是哮喘和慢性呼吸道疾病的原因之一。 美国芝加哥大学能源政策研究所发布的空气质量寿命指数报告显示:“如果污染水平将持续,孟加拉国、印度、尼泊尔和巴基斯坦的居民预计平均寿命会缩短约 5 年。” 报告继续指出,“亚洲和非洲负担最重,但缺乏关键基础设施”。尽管如此,我们还是有理由希望在我们的地区找到可能的解决方案,因为中国在空气污染防治的努力仍然取得了显着成功,而且工作仍在进行中。正如该报告所述,“自 2013 年(即中国开始“反污染之战”的前一年)以来,中国的污染已下降了 42.3%。由于这些改善,如果减排持续,中国公民的平均寿命预计会延长 2.2 年。”

Ensure clean air for blue skies: urgent call for global convention on air pollution

“Air pollution is the greatest external threat to human life expectancy on the planet” reads a headline from the recent ...